Video course and discussions coming to St. Nicholas Parish in Langley
By Agnieszka Krawczynski
The B.C. Catholic

A Franciscan sister is coordinating a series of upcoming workshops to help families connect, communicate, and bond.

Sister John Mary Sullivan, FSE, said the Archdiocese of Vancouver made “strengthening marriages and families” a priority earlier this year, and that’s what the team at the Life, Marriage, and Family Office has set out to do.

“It’s definitely a way of bringing to fruition that priority so that it doesn’t just remain a concept.”


Couples Connect

A six-week program for couples will begin at the John Paul II Pastoral Centre Oct. 26., and run weekly on Wednesdays, 7-9 p.m.

“We’ve received feedback from some of our surveys that couples would like us to offer some type of support after the marriage preparation period,” she said.

Couples Connect “is not a fix-your-marriage workshop. It’s to increase your communication skills and to feel a deeper connection.”

It’s been offered in the area before: at St. Jude’s Parish in May and June. Couples married as little as five months and as long as 60 years participated. “It’s a lot of fun. People seemed to really enjoy their time. It’s very interactive.”


Making sense of anxiety

A workshop to support parents is also on the horizon.

“We’re seeing, more and more, children with a higher level of anxiety,” Sister Sullivan said. That anxiety might be manifest in children being fearful or highly sensitive, and might be trigged by things like writing tests or speaking in public.

Kevin Bredeman, trained at Vancouver’s Neufeld Institute, will lead a video course and series of discussions at St. Nicholas Parish in Langley Oct. 27 and Nov. 3, 9, and 17.

“Neufeld’s primary focus is on attachment: the child feels bonded and connected, which would help a parent help them navigate through some of that anxiety.”

Sister Sullivan said anyone who spends time with children, including teachers or grandparents, could also benefit from the course.

Other marriage and parenting courses are going on. More information and registration for them is available at www.rcav.org/life-marriage-family.